Lawrence County School District

The Lawrence County School District in Arkansas consists of two schools - Walnut Ridge Elementary School and Walnut Ridge High School. Based on the available data, Walnut Ridge High School appears to be the stronger performing school in the district, outpacing the elementary school and state averages on most academic metrics.

Walnut Ridge High School holds a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger and demonstrates higher proficiency rates in English Language Arts, Reading, and Mathematics compared to the district and state averages. The high school's performance is particularly strong in Mathematics, with 38.4% of students proficient or better, versus 27.5% for the district and 38.7% for the state. In contrast, Walnut Ridge Elementary School struggles with test scores, performing well below the district and state benchmarks across all subjects and grade levels.

Other key differences between the two schools include spending per student ($10,555 at the high school versus $9,125 at the elementary) and student-teacher ratio (7.8 at the high school versus 14.6 at the elementary). Additionally, the elementary school serves a higher percentage of economically disadvantaged students, with a free/reduced lunch rate of 67.14% compared to 47.52% at the high school. These factors may contribute to the disparity in academic performance between the two schools, highlighting the need for further investigation and targeted support at the elementary level.